Review: Tempest

THE SHORT VERDICT:

Big-budgeted, glossy and peppered with big-name stars, Tempest was poised to be Disney’s big kdrama hit of the year.

Unfortunately, it does feel like, whichever camp you’re in – whether you’re in this for the romance, or the politics, or the mystery-thriller aspect of things – you’d likely come away from this one feeling not completely satisfied.

Also, whichever camp you’re in, you’re also likely to agree that Show seems to have been rather too ambitious, resulting in a rather uneven watch experience.

Not terrible, overall, but still a regrettable waste of potential.

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Review: Heartbeat

THE SHORT VERDICT:

I’d say that Show is a mixed bag, overall.

On the one hand, it’s a silly, funny show about mixed signals, wrong turns and burgeoning feelings, all within an overarching umbrella of fish-out-of-water hijinks, because our earnest vampire needs to get used to the modern world that he’s woken up in.

This is pretty great, I have to say.

On the other hand, Show isn’t a rom-com at heart, and has more poignant themes about love and purpose that it wants to focus on, in its second half. This requires some hefty lens adjustments, which I’ll talk about in my review.

Your mileage will absolutely vary, but I will say that with my lens adjusted, I’ve come away with a more appreciative attitude towards Show’s ending, and I’m not putting in a request to get my watch hours back.

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